Other than the fact they won last year’s XFM Unsigned competition, I had absolutely no idea what Archie and the Instincts were all about. I couldn’t tell you who was in the band, what they did or even where they came from. To say I was clueless would be an understatement. Fast forward to a week ago when the ‘Burning Heart’ EP dropped through my letterbox – and wow. If ever there was an advert to show music does the talking, this record is it.
Imagine Saves The Day fronted by Ash mainman Tim Wheeler, throw in a huge dollop of melody and a chorus to kill for and you have the EP’s title-track, a song which, to me, is one of the best British releases of the year so far. Come the summer ‘Burning Heart’ will be on mix tapes everywhere. It’s a feelgood song that is a radio anthem-in-waiting – all delicious vocals and chirpy harmonies. The appeal is simple; this song is all about the singalong hooks and feelgood factor. Harking back to a time when Chris Conley wrote fast, upbeat songs that didn’t disappear up his own bum, Archie take their own British slant, some driving guitars and a hook the size of Holland. Throw in Dave Eringa’s production and you have a track that will be all over the place in no time at all.
But Archie are no one trick pony as the two other efforts prove. ‘Forget Me Not’ is included in acosutic form and even stripped down it oozes class. The vocals again nod towards early Saves The Day but again there’s a huge chorus that will have you singing along quicker than you can say ’emo is evil’. Even the faster ‘Instincts’ has more power than a Mike Tyson uppercut, not to mention enough energy to keep a small African nation in electricity. The question remains that if Archie are this good, why have I not heard of them before? I guess it doesn’t matter – I just hope they are now here to stay. If this is the basis of a future album, I hope it comes sooner rather than later. If you’re looking for your new favourite band, you may well have just found it…
www.archieandtheinstincts.net
Gravity DIP Records
Paul